I think the heart and the motivation is pertinent to the discussion.

It’s not a large part of my income. It’s not even income I count on. It’s more just a hobby.

My DH used to sell software for money to run a simulation of fantasy hockey. And he ran a website and a league where you paid to play. He ran it for years until we meet. And he made a pretty penny doing it. He had to run the financials to determine how much to sell the software for, how much to sell the advertising for, how much to run league membership for. What it cost to pay for his server, our internet, his time, taxes (which was more in canada), etc.

So yes, we do understand about small businesses and profit. And by the way we’re considering starting a business next year. Depending on how things turn out.

But we’re going to sit, talk and discuss what our bottom line and walk away point is before hand. Because this would be an income change.

And if you don’t like people nickel and diming you then raise your prices or get a job for a company! Simple. The market only supports what it supports.

Nope. My business is fine, thanks very much. I just get tired of the way people who have no clue justify nickle-and-diming small business owners. And then get holier than thou about it and lecture about profit and loss and income margins. Do YOU actually own a small business and know what you’re talking about? Have you ever owned a small business? Because it doesn’t sound like you have.

I also pointed out to my DH that we don’t have to use her and we could have tried to hire someone from Craigslist to housesit for us. Our roommate will be home for a few more days after us, so we don’t even have to board the dogs the entire time.

Also trust me Kara, we’re considering ALL the time about expenses. We didn’t travel internationally because the dollar was awful this year. We also took our dogs AND didn’t use her services over the summer on a camping vacation. SO, I’d have to argue that her business is slowing down and if she feels it’s not making enough money then stop doing it.

Heck, all business owners big or small have to decide when it’s not worth running anymore. And unfortunately in this climate it’s going to happen to more owners.

I know this because my DH desperately wants to start a business. Is it the right time? We’re not exactly sure it is. And how long would he give himself before dumping the business?

These are all questions that need to be decided before you start the business. What is your bottom line? Breakeven point? Etc. If you don’t have a business plan, financial, etc then why are you doing it?

How will you get a business loan if you don’t? And how will you pay for the loan if you aren’t making $x of dollars?

Sounds to me like you are upset that people aren’t using your business. I think it’s a tough economic climate to be doing so. But I’m not here to keep your business open. I’m thinking about my own bottom line. AND I’m sure our not sending our dogs there this summer to the tune of $500+ is a big deal. But hey we kept it cheaper for a reason.

“Oh, her business is slow anyway. Some money is better than no money. The market supports … Blah blah blah.”

You said that business owners have a right to charge what they want but if it’s too much, no one will pay it. Let me ask you this – if this woman had said “no” to your request for a discount, would you have not used her services? Or would you have paid her the price that you’ve already said was “very reasonable”?

So instead of thinking “wow, this is a really reasonable price and I’m lucky to have this business that I can use for my admittedly difficult dogs and support this business in these hard economic times” … you put this woman in a position of possibly feeling like she HAD to give you an even bigger discount than the multi-animal discount you were already getting, or she’d lose your business.

So you took your difficult dogs to a private kennel that gave you a great rate to begin with and you nickle and dimed her for another 10%. Was it REALLY worth it?

I’d be embarrassed, too, if I were you or your husband. I think what you did was take advantage of a small business that was already giving you a really good deal and now you’re trying to justify it with self-serving blather about people who own small businesses.

So I’m not surprised. I’ll bet more people are camping or not travelling.

The other side of this is – if her business is slowing down, she may not be making enough to stay in business over the long haul. You have to weigh the value you place on her service against the $30 you saved. If she sees that she is not only slow over the holiday that used to be her busiest time, but she cannot even get her regular (extremely reasonable!) price, then she may need to find another job. And how does that impact you?